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2014 July Newsletter
LEE COUNTY WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION July 2014 President Billy Gillum Vice-President James Norment Secretary Justin Lyon Treasurer Martin Schubert Directors Area I – Two Creeks Justin Lyon Jeff Mutcher Jeff Shows Area II – South Lee Jeff Robertson Allen Kaiser Jim Bob Bigon Area III – West Yegua Shane Urban Pastor Leif Hasskarl Phillip Kalmbach Area IV – East Yegua James Norment Erich Lehmann Billy Woodward Area V – Blue Brach Ben Berg Roy Schindler Alan Turner Director-at-Large - Bryan Harris Keeton Ehrig Lee County Extension Agent Agriculture/NR 979-542-2753 Laura Sherrod Wildlife Biologist Texas Parks and Wildlife 979-540-2744 Adam Broll Game Warden Texas Parks and Wildlife Cell 979-540-0194 leecountywildlife.org Scholarships Awarded To Five Local Grads The Lee County Wildlife Association offers five $500 scholarships to deserving graduating seniors from our membership. As part of the application process, each applicant was asked to write a one-page essay with the topic: "In what ways can I inspire others to be good stewards of our natural resources?" The five recipients of the scholarships this year were: Amanda Berger, Amanda Fischer, Brooke Fritsche, Allison Kasier, and Mariah Weise. Congratulations to these and all area graduates! Austin while I attended school, where I conducted habitat assessments, wetland delineations, and endangered species surveys, amongst others. I have been employed with Texas Parks and Wildlife since 2008, where I have worked with the Big Game Program, specifically the Deer Breeder Program, until this April. I accepted the wildlife biologist position for Lee and Fayette counties in late March, and I moved my husband and two little boys (3 and 4 years old) with me here from Buda, Texas. All have been very happy with the change! I have already met with several from Lee County, and all have made me feel very welcome to the community. I am very much looking forward to meeting and working with the rest of you! Membership Dues are Due If you don’t think you have paid your dues for this year please Get-R-Done. You can check with Susan Schatte at the Extension New Wildlife Biologist for Lee and Fayette Counties Hi! I’m Laura Sherrod, your new Texas Parks & Wildlife biologist for Lee County. After spending many years helping with my family’s ranch in Edwards County, I knew that I wanted to make a career out of helping others with their land and wildlife. I received my degree in Wildlife Biology, with a minor in Agriculture, from Texas State University in San Marcos. I worked for Horizon Environmental Services out of Doe Permits If you think you have more deer on your property than you think it should have and would like to receive doe permits this season, please turn in a herd composition form and other survey data completed during the month of August. It needs to be turned in to me by September 5th. If you have never before requested doe permits, please contact me as soon as possible so we can get you set up to conduct the most appropriate survey for your property. You can get a copy of all the forms you need from our web site at www.leecountywildlife.org or contact me at 979-540-2744 or [email protected]. The Importance of Your Local Wildlife Management Association Wildlife Management Associations (WMA) are very important to both private landowners and to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD). Many WMA members feel that the only reason to join a WMA is to get Managed Lands Deer Permits. We will discuss deer permits a little more in depth later in the article, but first we need to cover some basic information on WMA’s. Wildlife Management Associations serve an important role in wildlife management across the Oak-Prairie Regulatory District. In this district, there are approximately 54 WMA’s which cover over 1 million acres and are comprised of several thousand landowners. A major issue in the state of Texas is habitat and land ownership fragmentation. Basically, properties are continually being sold and chopped into smaller and smaller parcels. From a wildlife management perspective, it is difficult to manage wildlife populations and habitat on ‘smaller’ acreage than on large properties. This is one important aspect of local WMA’s. Many WMA’s in Texas were formed strictly due to the desire to manage for quality deer populations. The most important aspect most of the time is to allow bucks to become mature and also for population control accomplished by harvesting the female portion of the herd. From the view of TPWD, local WMA’s allow us to get ‘the word out’ and to educate many landowners through periodic meetings and newsletters. Additionally, local WMA’s can serve as a critical voice for landowners during the regulatory process of TPWD. As many of you are aware by now, many Texas counties have been placed under antler restrictions so that we can allow bucks to become mature. This regulation would likely not have occurred if it was not for the support of WMA’s across the Oak-Prairie District in which this regulation was started as an experiment. Now, back to deer permits and the importance of your local WMA to you as a private landowner. The permits TPWD issues are through the Managed Lands Deer (MLD) program. There are several requirements for a landowner to qualify for MLD permits, just a few are: 1) you must have an active wildlife management plan in place, 2) current deer population data must be provided, and 3) cooperators should provide harvest summary at end of season. As an agency, it would be very difficult to write individual wildlife management plans to every small landowner across the state. As a member of the local WMA, your property falls under the wildlife management plan provided for that WMA. Additionally, the deer population date on a single small acreage property is usually not adequate to allow for permit issuance. However, by grouping census, observation, and harvest data together from all the WMA members, the issuance of MLD permits can be allowed. Without the management of your local WMA, it would be safe to say that most folks with small acreage would not qualify for MLD permits. Harmless Water Snake or Venomous Cottonmouth? Many people see a snake in the water and automatically associate it with the venomous cottonmouth, also called the water moccasin Truth is, in Lee County, most of the snakes you see in the water are actually harmless. The occasional cottonmouth is found in Lee County, but they are not very common. So how does one distinguish a harmless water snake from a venomous cottonmouth? In a lot of cases, the snakes can actually look very similar. Some sources will tell you to look at the shape of the head, shape of the pupils, whether the snake swims with its body under water, or to look if the snake has pits on its face….I would not depend on these 100% of the time. For one, how close would you need to be to examine whether the snake has pits on its face? Yep, pretty close! Most people are not wanting to sit there and study the snake’s face that closely, and I would bet the snake would not appreciate it too much, either. Also, you hear that a snake with a triangular head is venomous, but there are actually several species of harmless snakes that will flatten their heads to appear more triangular. So, what is a good way to figure out if the snake you see in or near the water is in fact venomous? The best way is to look for a ridge along the snake’s head. A cottonmouth will have a prominent ridge along the head, which gives it a fairly distinct shape and look. With a bit of practice, this can be Western Cottonmouth (Photo: Pierson Hill) fairly easy to identify. Blotched Water Snake (Photo: Kenneth Gisi) Virtual Fishing Tournament Lee County will be holding a virtual fishing tournament July 4 through July 6. This is a catch and release tournament for bass only. Judging will be based on entry pictures posted at the Lee County 4-H Facebook group or sent to Extension Intern, [email protected]. Youth Wildlife Program Friday, July 18 9:00 am– 4:00 pm Ages: 6-12th grade Lunch will be Served. Register by July 14h. Dissection and anatomy of deer and fish x Examples of fish from various bodies of The results of the contest will be posted water by July 8, and a prize will be awarded x Observe different aspects of wildlife x Guest speakers for the longest bass! x KEETON EHRIG Extension Agent-Lee Co. Agriculture/Natural Resources Phone: (979)542-2753 E-mail: [email protected] TO RECEIVE DOE PERMITS PLEASE COMPLETE THIS PORTION OF THE FORM ALONG WITH YOUR HERD COMPOSITION DATA ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS FORM F I did not receive permits last year. F I received permits last year using the TWIMS system but my contact information has changed F I received permits last year and my contact information has not changed F Other problem (describe):_______________________________________________________________ Your Name: ______________________________ Property Name: _________________________________ Wildlife Management Association: __________________________________________________________ Requesters Mailing Address (road, city, zip): __________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Address of property permits are being requested for: ____________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Phone Numbers: ________________________ _______________________ _______________________ E-mail: ___________________________________ Number of acres in the tract requesting permits: ______ HERD COMPOSITION DATA Herd composition data (often called incidental observations) may be the most valuable data collected on a deer herd. When properly collected, herd composition data can reflect the overall health of a herd and help guide the manager in making proper harvest recommendations. Herd composition data should be collected between August 1 and September 5 The fawns have become a part of the herd by this time, yet they are small enough to be easily distinguished from adult deer. Observations outside this period may result in inaccurate data. Observations may be collected any time during the day. However, the first and last hours of daylight are often the most productive. All deer recorded must be viewed through binoculars or a spotting scope Small antlers are easily overlooked without optical aids. Fawns whose spots have started to fade are also hard to distinguish when they are observed alone. Be sure to look at the hips of deer that you think could possibly be fawns because the hips are the last place to lose spots. Ideally, a minimum of 150 deer should be identified If possible, a larger sample size is desirable to strengthen the data and increase the confidence in the harvest recommendations. Observations can be made during routine ranch operations or as a special effort. On smaller ranches (<300 acres), it may not be feasible to obtain 150 deer observations, but efforts should be made to get at least 50. Members of Wildlife Management Associations should get at least 30 deer observations for ranches <300 acres and 50100 deer observations for ranches >300 acres. Observing the same Submit data by SEPTEMBER 5 to deer recorded on a previous count is not a concern. If a Laura Sherrod conscientious effort is made to record accurate data, a small Texas Parks & Wildlife Department amount of duplicate recording should not affect the ratios. All 200 S Main - 203A deer should be recorded as a buck, doe, or fawn. Recording bucks Giddings TX 78942 according to number of antler points is also beneficial. The 979-540-2744 occurrence of inferior animals versus multi point animals can be used to measure progress in the quality of the deer herd over time. HERD COMPOSITION / INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS If you are requesting doe permits please complete the form on reverse side in addition Ranch Name: County: Observer: Lee Year: 2014 Property Owner: Your Wildlife Management Association (CIRCLE ONE) Æ Two Creeks South Lee West Yegua East Yegua Blue Branch PLEASE MAKE SURE TO TOTAL THE NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM! Date 2-3 Point Bucks 4-7 Point Bucks 8+ Point Bucks Undetermined Bucks 8/4 ll llll l ll TOTAL Does Fawns Comments llll llll lll llll l Example OAK-PRAIRIE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS WILDLIFE NEWS July 2014 DISTRICT 7 NEWS District7wouldliketowelcometwonewbiologiststothe team.ThesetwonewaddiƟonsĮnallybringthedistrictup tofullstrength. LçÙ S«ÙÙÊ tookoverfor GregPleasantandcoversLee andFayeƩecounƟes.GregleŌ thedistricttobecomethe RegionalFireCoordinatorfor Region4(whichincludes District7).Lauracomestous fromtheBigGameProgram wheresheworkedinthe permiƫngsecƟonprimarily workingwithdeerbreeders. Laura’sĮrstoĸcialdaywith thedistrictwasApril1,2014. ShehasadegreefromTexasStateUniversityinWildlife BiologyandhasworkedforTexasParksandWildlifefor aboutsixyears.Laurawilloĸceatthecourthousein Giddings,inthesamelocaƟonGregPleasantoccupied andtheoĸcephonenumberwillremainthesame. TÙù BÙÙÊÄ isthenewbiologistforVictoria,Calhoun andRefugiocounƟesĮllingthevacancyleŌbythe departureofTrentTeinert.TrentleŌDistrict7forWilson andKarnescounƟesinDistrict8.Treyreceiveda bachelorsandmastersdegreeinwildlifebiologyfrom WestTexasA&M.HecomestousfromthePanhandle District(District2)wherehe hasworkedforthelast3+ years.Hehasagreatdealof experienceworkingwith privatelandownersandwillbe agreataddiƟontothedistrict. TreywilloĸceinVictoriain thesamelocaƟonthatTrent occupiedwhenhewasinthe district.Theoĸcephone numberwillalsoremainthe same. CompletecontactinformaƟonfortheseandallDistrict7 biologistscanbefoundonpage3ofthisnewsleƩer. RANGELAND AND WATERSHED HEALTH Bobby Eichler, District 7 Technical Guidance Biologist AsIwritethisarƟcle(lateMay),mostoftheOakPrairie districthasreceivedsomenicerainfalloverthelasttwo weeks.Mostfolkshavereceivedafewinchesofrainwith somereceivingupwardsofteninchesormore.LivinginLa Grange,IsawtheColoradoRiverrisequiteabitduring thisperiod.Chancesare,ifyoulivenearariversuchas theSanBernard,theNavidad,theGuadalupe,orsomeof thelargecreeksinthearea,yousawthesame.Heavy rainfallandamplerunoīcanbeagoodthing.Runoīis neededtoĮllthemanystocktankscoveringthearea whicharevitalforthelivestockindustry.Runoīisalso criƟcalforstreamandriverhealth,aswellas,the downstreambaysintheGulf. However,therainfallswehavebeenblessedwithwould beevenmorebeneĮcialifwecould‘catch’moreofthe wateranddecreasethevolumeofrunoīwetendto experience.SomeofyoumaybethinkingIampromoƟng moredamsandlakes;butthisisnotthecase.Itwouldbe wonderfulifourrangecondiƟonswereinsuchshapethat ourrangelands‘captured’moreoftherainfallandslowly releasedthewaterintothesystem,moderaƟngtherunoī overalongerperiodofƟme.Runoīcanbeagoodthing, butnotwhenitallhitstheGulfwithin7Ͳ10daysaŌera moderatetoheavyrainfallevents.Wegetthisincreased runoīwhenourrangelandsaredegradedandlackthe abilitytoabsorbtherainfall.Onecouldnothelpbut noƟcetheamountofsedimentthatŇoweddownthe Coloradoastheriverrose.ThiswasnotaoneƟmeevent, everyƟmetheriverrisessubstanƟally,itisfullof sediment.Youmightthinkthatisnormalwhenyouget rainfallandrunoī,yougetdirtywater.Whilethismaybe thenormtoday,itisnothealthyforoursystems. HealthyrangelandsshouldfuncƟonlikeaspongetoour watersheds.Asrainfalloccurs,thereshouldbeample grassandforbcoveragetointercepttheraindropsand allowwatertoinĮltratethesoils.Goodrootdevelopment onourgrassesallowsforinĮltraƟonofmoisture. SubsurfacemoisturewouldthenŇowthroughsprings, hillsideseeps,andthroughthesoiltothecreekandriver beds.AlthoughhealthyplantcommuniƟesarerelatedto (Continued on page 2) Oak Prairie Wildlife News — 2 (Continued from page 1) weathercondiƟonsandrainfall,grazingintensity,grazing duraƟon,andstockingratesplayadecidingroleonhow eīecƟveourrangelandisinabsorbingrainfall.Toomuch grazing,withoutadequaterestordeferment,depletes plantrootstoresandincreasessoilexposureand compacƟon.Allofthisreducestheabilitytoabsorb rainfallandincreasesrunoī.Sincewe’vebeenina droughtforthelastseveralyears,theeīectsoftoomuch grazinghavebeenexacerbatedandcanbeseenacross thelandscape. AnotherbeneĮtofincreasinginĮltraƟonandslowing runoīistherechargeofourgroundwateraquifers. Groundwaterisbecomingmoreandmoredepletedwith manydiīerentenƟƟes(municipal,industrial,orfarmand ranch)allneedingandwanƟngapartofthepie.Forusto possiblyprotectgroundwaterforthelongterm,private landownersacrossthestatewillneedtoseethe importanceofcapturingtherainfallthatfallsontheir property.ManyfolkssƟllrememberthevarioussprings thatoncedoƩedthelandscape.Thesespringsdidnot ceaseŇowingtotallybecauseofchangestoourrainfall paƩernsoverthepast100years.MoststoppedŇowing duetochangesinlandpracƟcesinconjuncƟonwith demand. HerearesomenumberstothinkaboutͲͲaoneinchrainfall eventononeacreoflandresultsin27,154gallonsof water.Someofthiswaterwillrunoī,butwhatifthe majorityofthewaterinĮltratedthesoil?Expandthe1 inchrainfalleventtoa100acrepropertyandthis producesover2.7milliongallonsofwater. Forthefolkswhowereblessedwithover5inchesofrain overthepastrainfallevent,thesame100acreproperty producedover13.5milliongallonsofwater.Howuseful wasthisrainfalleventtoyouif90%ofitranoītothe nearbycreekandontotheGulf.Willyourpropertybedry againinsixweekswithveryliƩlegrassproducƟonandthe needtofeedhaythisSeptemberorwillitbeahealthy rangelandwithamplesoilmoisturethatprovidesforage forproperlystockedlivestockandwildlife?Itisuptoyou. CHANGES TO HUNTER EDUCATION CERTIFICATION Overthepastyear,ahandfulofchangeshavebeenmade totheTexasHunterEducaƟonProgramandcurriculum. Thebiggestchangesare: 1) theBasicHunterEducaƟonCoursewasreducedfrom tenhoursofclassƟmetosix. 2) thereisnowacompleteonlinecourseforTexas residentswhoare17yearsofageorolderwhichdoes notrequireaskillstest. ThehuntereducaƟoncurriculumalsonowoīersan EnhancedCourseandanAdvancedCourseforthose wishingtotakemorehoursinspeciĮcsubjectsofhunter educaƟonthatmaynolongerbecoveredintheBasic Course. TheBasicHunterEducaƟonCourseistheclassthatis requiredforhunterslessthan17yearsofagetobe cerƟĮed.Hopefully,byreducingthenumberofhoursof instrucƟon,theclasswillbeeasierforyouthtoaƩend andworkintobusyschedules.AddiƟonally,theonline courseforhunters17andovershouldmakeiteasierfor thisagegrouptobecomecerƟĮedsinceyouwillno longerhavetoscheduleaskillscoursetocomplete cerƟĮcaƟon. Asareminder,HunterEducaƟonisarequirementfor everyhunter(includingoutͲofͲstatehunters)bornonor aŌerSeptember2,1971.Huntersmustsuccessfully completeaHunterEducaƟonTrainingCourse.Minimum ageforcerƟĮcaƟonis9yearsofage.Thefollowing guidelinesmayhelpyou: i Forhuntersunder9yearsofage,youmustbe accompanied*. i Huntersage9through16,youmustsuccessfully completeahunterseducaƟoncourse,orbe accompanied*. i Huntersover17yearsofagemustsuccessfully completeahuntereducaƟoncourseorpurchasea “HunterEducaƟonDeferral”andbeaccompanied*. South Texas Wildlife Conference The14thSouthTexasWildlifeConferencewillbeheld August20Ͳ21inFloresville,Texas.TheConferenceisan eventsponsoredbyTexasWildlifeAssociaƟon,Caesar KlebergWildlifeResearchInsƟtute,andTexasParksand WildlifeDepartment.Thisyear’sconferencewillfocuson managingexpectaƟonswhendealingwithquail populaƟonsandrestoraƟonimpacts.Formore informaƟonandtoregister,visitwww.texasͲwildlife.org/ resources/events/southͲtexasͲwildlifeͲconference. *Accompaniedmeansyoumustbewithsomeonewhois over17,licensedtohuntinTexas,whohaspasseda hunterseducaƟoncourseorbeexempt(bornbefore September2,1971),andbewithinnormalvoicedistance. WithhunƟngseasonbeginninginSeptember(doveand teal),classeswilllikelystartbeginninginAugustinmany partsofthestate.Ifyouneedtoenrollinaclass,keepan eyeoutfornoƟcesinlocalpapersaswellasthewebsite: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/hunter_educaƟon/ city.phtml Oak Prairie Wildlife News — 3 Upper Coast Wetland Ecosystems Project Wetlandandregulatory IssuesinJeīerson,Chambers, OrangeandLibertyCounƟes J®Ã Sçã«Ù½®Ä,409Ͳ736Ͳ2551 10Parks&WildlifeDrive PortArthurTX77640 Central Coast Wetland Ecosystems Project Wetlandissuesalong centralcoastalcounƟes Mãã N½ÝÊÄ,979Ͳ323Ͳ9553 22007thStreet,3rdFloor BayCityTX77414 Wildlife Diversity Biologist and LIP Contact BÙÄã OÙã¦Ê,361Ͳ576Ͳ0022 2805N.Navarro,Suite600B VictoriaTX77901 Oak Prairie District Dò® FÊÙÙÝãÙ D®Ä FÊÝÝ TÊ P®½®» District7Leader 979Ͳ968Ͳ6591 111E.Travis,Suite200 LaGrangeTX78945 [email protected] UrbanBiologistͲHouston 281Ͳ456Ͳ7029 14320GarreƩRoad HoustonTX77044 [email protected] BrazoriaandMatagordaCounƟes 979Ͳ245Ͳ6890 22007thSt.,3rdŇoor BayCityTX77414 [email protected] BÊù E®«½Ù DÊç¦ JÊÝ LçÙ S«ÙÙÊ District7TechnicalGuidanceBiologist 979Ͳ968Ͳ9942 111E.Travis,Suite200 LaGrangeTX78945 [email protected] JacksonandLavacaCounƟes 361Ͳ798Ͳ2625 412N.Texana HalleƩsvilleTX77964 [email protected] LeeandFayeƩeCounƟes 979Ͳ540Ͳ2744 200SMain#203A GiddingsTX78942 [email protected] TÙù BÙÙÊÄ MÙ» LĦ JÊÝ« TçÙÄÙ Calhoun,VictoriaandRefugioCounƟes 361Ͳ576Ͳ0022 2805N.Navarro,Suite600B VictoriaTX77901 [email protected] AusƟnandColoradoCounƟes 979Ͳ732Ͳ3458 1117TravisStreet ColumbusTX78934 [email protected] DeWiƩandGoliadCounƟes 361Ͳ576Ͳ0022 2805N.Navarro,Suite600B VictoriaTX77901 [email protected] K®ã« CÙÄÝ«ó Dò® LÊÖÙ®Ý BÙÄÄ W®ãã UrbanBiologist,Houston&HarrisCounty 281Ͳ456Ͳ7029 14320GarreƩRoad HoustonTX77044 [email protected] FortBend,Galveston,WhartonCounƟes 832Ͳ595Ͳ8999 1402BandRd.Suite100 RosenbergTX77471 [email protected] SãÖ«Ä® DÃÙÊÄ Mٮ㫠LÊĦÊÙ® Waller&WashingtonCounƟes 979Ͳ277Ͳ6297 1305E.BlueBellRoad BrenhamTX77833 [email protected] BastropandCaldwellCounƟes 512Ͳ332Ͳ7280 901Pecan BastropTX78602 [email protected] GuadalupeandGonzalesCounƟes NeasloneyWildlifeManagementArea 830Ͳ424Ͳ3407 20700StateHwy80North GonzalesTX78629 brendan.wiƩ@tpwd.texas.gov Findusonthewebat: www.tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/ land/habitats/oak_prairie/ WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS I N T H E O A K -P R A I R I E D I S T R I C T AUSTIN COUNTY Austin County West End WMA Cat Spring WMA BASTROP COUNTY Alum Creek WMA Bartons Creek WMA Paint Creek WMA Pin Oak Creek WMA Red Rock WMA CALDWELL COUNTY Clear Fork Creek WMA Tri-Community WMA COLORADO COUNTY Central Colorado County WMA Colorado River WMA Harvey Creek WMA Northeast Colorado County WMA Oakridge Ranch WMA Sandy Creek WMA DEWITT COUNTY Central DeWitt County WMA Meyersville WMA Western DeWitt County WMA FAYETTE COUNTY Buckners Creek WMA Colorado River WMA Cummins Creek WMA East Navidad WMA North Central Fayette County WMA Rabbs Creek WMA West Navidad WMA FORT BEND COUNTY Thompsons Bottom WMA GOLIAD COUNTY Goliad County WMA JACKSON COUNTY Lavaca River WMA Sandy Creek WMA Texana WMA West Carancahua Creek WMA LAVACA COUNTY Honey Creek WMA Rocky Creek WMA South Central Lavaca County WMA Sweet Home WMA Vienna WMA West Sandy Creek WMA GONZALES COUNTY Belmont WMA Hamon River Bottom WMA Northeast Gonzales County WMA Salt Flat WMA San Marcos River WMA Sandies Creek WMA LEE COUNTY Blue Branch WMA East Yegua WMA South Lee WMA Two Creeks WMA West Yegua WMA GUADALUPE COUNTY Guadalupe County WMA REFUGIO COUNTY Blackjack Peninsula WMA VICTORIA COUNTY Guadalupe River North WMA Southwest Victoria County WMA Victoria Prairie WMA WASHINGTON COUNTY Greenvine WMA Mount Vernon WMA New Years Creek WMA Post Oak WMA Rocky Creek WMA Sand Town WMA Sun Oil WMA WHARTON COUNTY Egypt WMA Lost Prong WMA
